CAIRO – 20 April 2022: Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel Aty asserted Tuesday, in a meeting with the Japanese ambassador, that Egypt showed much lenience throughout the decade-long negotiations on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) built on the Nile River. That is why it would not forfeit its demand for a legally binding agreement on the operation and filling of the hydropower project. The dispute among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia dates back to May 2011 when Ethiopia started building the dam; Egypt voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters]. Constructions in the Grand Renaissance Dam started on April 2, 2011 at a cost of $4.8 billion. The first and second fillings were carried out in 2020 and 2021, respectively, making the total 8 billion cubic meters.
